Claim OwnershipBeyond the Cave Podcast – Fitness in Modern Life
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© Brad Young 2025
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Welcome to Beyond the Cave, where we explore the fascinating intersection of ancient lifestyles and modern living. In this podcast, we compare the lives of our prehistoric ancestors with those of contemporary humans to uncover valuable insights about functional strength, nutrition, and daily habits. What can we learn from the natural movements, diets, and routines of cavemen to improve our fitness and well-being today? Join us as we bridge the gap between the past and present, offering practical advice and thought-provoking discussions on living stronger, healthier lives.
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Your body is a marvel of evolutionary engineering, designed for movement, adaptation, and resilience. For millions of years, our ancestors squatted, climbed, crawled, and walked their way to incredible physical prowess. They didn't need scheduled "stretching sessions" because their lifestyle naturally maintained their flexibility. Their daily tasks were their mobility work.Fast forward to today. You sit at a desk, in a car, on a couch—often for more than 10 hours a day. Your body, still wired with the ancient expectations of movement, is slowly being reshaped by modern stillness. The result? Tight hips, a stiff back, rounded shoulders, and a general feeling of being trapped in your own skin. You might try to counteract this with traditional stretching, holding a hamstring stretch for 30 seconds, but the relief is often temporary.
Your core is the command center of your body. It's the bridge that transfers power from your lower body to your upper body, the anchor that stabilizes your every move. But somewhere between the wild savanna and the modern office, we lost our connection to this incredible source of strength. We chase sculpted abs with endless crunches, yet wonder why our backs ache after a day at the desk.
You've embraced the mindset. You're moving more, eating cleaner, and thinking like your ancestors to unlock peak performance in your modern life. But then life happens. A late meeting, a tight deadline, or travel disrupts your routine, and the gym feels a world away. What if your greatest fitness asset wasn't a commercial gym membership, but a space you created in your own home? A space built on the principles of functional, ancestral strength.
You train like a caveman, integrating functional strength and natural movement into your life, pushing your body to move the way it was designed to. But are you fueling your body with the same ancestral wisdom that complements this approach? The most effective training program can be rendered ineffective if it’s paired with a diet that works against your biology. Your hunter-gatherer ancestors didn’t have access to modern nutritionists, diet apps, or processed convenience foods, yet they managed to maintain lean, powerful physiques, incredible stamina, and balanced health. Their secret was simple but profound: they ate real, whole foods that their bodies were genetically designed to thrive on. Fresh vegetables, wild-caught proteins, nuts, seeds, and natural fats formed the foundation of their nutrition, providing the energy and nutrients necessary to support their demanding, active lives. By aligning your diet with these primal eating habits, you can unlock your body’s full potential, fueling it as nature intended.
Your ancestor never experienced the chronic hip tightness that plagues modern office workers. They didn't wake up with stiff necks from computer work or struggle with rounded shoulders from hunching over devices. Yet here you are, part of the first generation in human history to experience systematic muscle imbalances caused by spending 8-12 hours daily in a single position our bodies were never designed to hold.
Your ancestors could sit in a deep squat for hours without discomfort. They could climb trees well into their elder years. They moved through their world with a fluid grace that modern humans struggle to maintain past their thirties. What did they know about mobility that we've forgotten?
You wake up with ambitious fitness goals. Yet by evening, your energy has been consumed by meetings, deadlines, and the relentless demands of professional success. Sound familiar? You're not alone in this struggle. The average executive spends 13 hours daily in sedentary positions, then battles the guilt of skipped gym sessions and abandoned fitness routine
Desk Job Fitness Hacks: Ancient Movement for Modern WorkersYour ancestor never sat in a chair for eight hours straight. While you navigate spreadsheets and Zoom calls, your hunter-gatherer DNA is quietly rebelling against the unnatural stillness. Your body remembers what it means to move with purpose, to shift positions naturally throughout the day, to use movement as fuel rather than viewing it as something you squeeze into your schedule.
You lift weights at the gym, follow a structured routine, and track your progress. Yet, when you help a friend move, your back aches for days. You can press a heavy barbell, but carrying groceries up three flights of stairs leaves you breathless and sore in strange places. What’s the disconnect? Modern fitness often builds gym strength, not life strength. It isolates muscles, forgetting that in the real world, your body works as one seamless unit.
Your core muscles haven't changed in 50,000 years, but your lifestyle has. Every time you slump in your office chair, every hour you spend hunched over your phone, every day you live without engaging your body's natural stabilization system, you're fighting against millions of years of human evolution.
The fluorescent light flickers above your desk as you lean forward, shoulders hunched, neck craned toward the screen. Your lower back aches with that familiar dull throb. Your wrists feel stiff from hours of typing. Sound familiar? This scenario has become the norm for so many of us, but here's what might surprise you: your body is sending you a message from 50,000 years ago.Deep within your cellular memory lies the blueprint of a different kind of human—one who moved through the world with perfect posture, incredible strength, and pain-free function. Your ancestors didn't need ergonomic chairs, standing desks, or posture correction gadgets because their entire existence WAS ergonomically perfect. They didn’t sit for hours in front of screens or stay confined to a single position; instead, they squatted, climbed, stretched, and moved in alignment with their environment. This natural movement not only kept them agile but also created a foundation of functional strength that modern fitness trends can barely replicate.
Picture this: You're crouched low, muscles coiled like springs, scanning the horizon. Every sense is heightened. Your heart pounds not from anxiety, but from pure, purposeful energy. This isn't a CrossFit session or HIIT workout—this is how your ancestors lived every single day.Now fast-forward to this morning. You rolled out of bed, shuffled to your coffee maker, and settled into a chair that will cradle you for the next eight hours. Your body—the same miraculous machine that once chased down prey across vast savannas—now expends more energy thinking about exercise than actually doing it.
Why Core Stability MattersCore stability is about much more than just having a strong midsection; it’s the foundation of nearly every movement you make. Whether you’re lifting a heavy object, sprinting to catch an elevator, or even just sitting with proper posture, your core muscles are hard at work stabilizing and supporting your body. A well-developed core contributes to improved balance, reduced risk of injury, and enhanced athletic performance.
Today, we’re heading way back—even further back—to the days of caves and campfires to explore caveman-style mobility. What can our ancestors teach us about longevity and functional movement? A lot more than you might think! These early humans didn’t have ergonomic chairs, fancy gym equipment, or memory foam mattresses, yet their natural movement patterns allowed them to stay limber, strong, and functional throughout their lives. They squatted, crawled, and climbed every day as part of survival, and those simple movements hold the key to better mobility even in our modern world.
Strength training is one of the most effective ways to unlock your physical and mental potential, yet it’s surrounded by countless misconceptions that hold people back from achieving their peak performance. One common myth is that lifting heavy weights will make you bulky overnight. The truth? Building significant muscle mass takes consistent training, precision in nutrition, and often years of dedication. For most of us, strength training improves lean muscle tone, enhances metabolism, and boosts overall functionality—making you not only stronger but sharper and more energized for life's daily demands. Forget the Hollywood clichés; strength training is about building resilience, not bulk.
Breaking free from this sedentary trap starts with small, intentional actions. Imagine incorporating dynamic movement into your day, even in a corporate setting—standing meetings, walking phone calls, or simply stretching during work breaks. By integrating these practices, you introduce a sense of flow and energy into your routine. Beyond the physical perks, moving more can significantly enhance your mental clarity, allowing you to operate at your peak both professionally and personally. When you reclaim movement, you’re not just improving your health—you’re unlocking a more efficient, focused, and inspired version of yourself.Alright, be honest with yourself
Why Primal Movement Matters in Today’s WorldOur bodies are designed for movement, not for the long hours of sitting at desks that modern life often demands. Primal movement—simple, functional motions like squatting, bending, pushing, and pulling—mimics the natural patterns humans have used for survival for thousands of years. By incorporating these into your daily routine, you can restore mobility, improve posture, and activate muscles that remain underused during typical workdays. This isn’t just a physical benefit; these movements stimulate blood flow and oxygen delivery to the brain, helping you stay energized and mentally sharp throughout the day. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Before we begin, imagine this for a second. No gym memberships. No equipment racks. Just your body, a few heavy objects, and the great outdoors. Sounds refreshing, doesn’t it? This is where caveman-style training comes in.It’s about going back to basics, focusing on raw, functional strength, and tapping into how human bodies were designed to move. And the best part? It’s simple, it’s efficient, and it works. By the end of this episode, you’ll not only know the essentials to start your own caveman workouts, but I guarantee you’ll feel inspired to give it a try.So, grab your metaphorical club, and let’s break this down into five basics that will help build a strong, agile, and resilient body, all while staying safe.
Today we’re channeling our inner caveman to tackle one of the most overlooked yet impactful parts of our health and success—our posture.Now, before you hit skip thinking, How much does my posture really matter? consider this. Every time you slouch in front of your computer or hunch over your phone, you’re not just affecting how you look or feel that day. You’re chipping away at your physical, mental, and even professional performance. Yes, your posture can directly impact the way you move, breathe, and focus.
Let’s face it: traveling can completely disrupt your regular fitness routine. You’re out of your element, stuck in a cramped hotel room, or maybe visiting family with no access to your favorite gym or equipment. The environment is unfamiliar, and your usual habits are thrown out the window. Sound familiar? If this has happened to you, don’t worry—you’re not alone. Whether you're on a business trip, vacation, or just away for the weekend, staying active can feel like an uphill battle. Today, I’m here to guide you through a "caveman-inspired" approach to staying fit and healthy while you’re on the move. Forget about fancy equipment or high-tech gadgets – instead, we’ll focus on simple, functional, and effective techniques designed to work anywhere, anytime.
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